In The News

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is an amazing time machine; by
looking back through space, astronomers actually look back
through time. Now, by pushing Hubble to its limits, an
international team of astronomers has shattered the cosmic
distance record by viewing the farthest galaxy ever seen.
Named GN-z11, this surprisingly bright, infant galaxy is
seen as it was 13.4 billion years in the past. The
astronomers saw it as it existed just 400 million years
after the big bang, when the universe was only three percent
of its current age. At a spectroscopically confirmed
redshift of 11.1, the galaxy is even farther away than
originally thought. It existed only 200 million to 300
million years after the time when scientists believe the
very first stars started to form. At a billion solar masses,
it is producing stars surprisingly quickly for such an early
time. This new record will most likely stand until the
launch of Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space
Telescope, which will look even deeper into the universe for
early galaxies

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope
joined forces to discover and characterize four unusually
bright galaxies as they appeared more than 13 billion years
ago, just 500 million years after the big bang. Although
Hubble has previously identified galaxies at this early
epoch, astronomers were surprised to find objects that are
about 10 to 20 times more luminous than anything seen
previously.

A Selection of High Redshift Galaxy Press Releases and Articles

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is an amazing time machine; by
looking back through space, astronomers actually look back
through time. Now, by pushing Hubble to its limits, an
international team of astronomers has shattered the cosmic
distance record by viewing the farthest galaxy ever seen.
Named GN-z11, this surprisingly bright, infant galaxy is
seen as it was 13.4 billion years in the past. The
astronomers saw it as it existed just 400 million years
after the big bang, when the universe was only three percent
of its current age. At a spectroscopically confirmed
redshift of 11.1, the galaxy is even farther away than
originally thought. It existed only 200 million to 300
million years after the time when scientists believe the
very first stars started to form. At a billion solar masses,
it is producing stars surprisingly quickly for such an early
time. This new record will most likely stand until the
launch of Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space
Telescope, which will look even deeper into the universe for
early galaxies read more

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope
joined forces to discover and characterize four unusually
bright galaxies as they appeared more than 13 billion years
ago, just 500 million years after the big bang. Although
Hubble has previously identified galaxies at this early
epoch, astronomers were surprised to find objects that are
about 10 to 20 times more luminous than anything seen
previously. read more

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes
have discovered that one of the most distant galaxies known
is churning out stars at a shockingly high rate. The
blob-shaped galaxy, called GN-108036, is the brightest
galaxy found to date at such great distances. read more

Using its near-infrared vision to peer 9 billion years back
in time, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered an
extraordinary population of tiny, young galaxies that are
brimming with star formation. The galaxies are typically a
hundred times less massive than the Milky Way galaxy, yet
they churn out stars at such a furious pace that their
stellar content would double in just 10 million years. By
comparison, the Milky Way would take a thousand times longer
to double its population. read more

Astronomers studying ultra-deep imaging data from the Hubble
Space Telescope have found what may be the most distant
galaxy ever seen, about 13.2 billion light-years away. The
study pushed the limits of Hubble's capabilities, extending
its reach back to about 480 million years after the Big
Bang, when the universe was just 4 percent of its current
age. read more

Astronomers have pushed NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to its
limits by finding what is likely to be the most distant
object ever seen in the universe. The object's light
traveled 13.2 billion years to reach Hubble, roughly 150
million years longer than the previous record holder. The
age of the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years. read more

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has broken the distance limit
for galaxies and uncovered a primordial population of
compact and ultra-blue galaxies that have never been seen
before. Garth Illingworth, professor of astronomy and
astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz,
leads the survey team that used Hubble's new infrared
camera, the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), to gather data in
August 2009 that revealed the distant galaxies in a small
patch of sky called the Ultra Deep Field. The Hubble Ultra
Deep Field was imaged in visible light by the Advanced
Camera for Surveys in 2004. read more

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made the deepest image of
the universe ever taken in near-infrared light. The faintest
and reddest objects in the image are galaxies that formed
600 million years after the Big Bang. No galaxies have been
seen before at such early times. The new deep view, taken in
late August 2009, also provides insights into how galaxies
grew in their formative years early in the universe's
history. read more

Astronomers declared NASA's Hubble Space Telescope a fully
rejuvenated observatory with the release Wednesday of
observations from four of its six operating science
instruments. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., unveiled the
images at NASA Headquarters in Washington. read more

Astronauts used the Shuttle to bring new cutting-edge
science instruments to enhance Hubble's capabilities by
large factors, as well as gyros, batteries and other crucial
devices to further its continued success through the year
2014. read more

NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, with a boost
from a natural "zoom lens," have uncovered what may be one
of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen in the
middle of the cosmic "dark ages," just 700 million years
after the beginning of our universe. read more

NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, with a boost
from a natural "zoom lens," have uncovered what may be one
of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen in the
middle of the cosmic "dark ages," just 700 million years
after the beginning of our universe. read more

NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, with a boost
from a natural "zoom lens," have uncovered what may be one
of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen in the
middle of the cosmic "dark ages," just 700 million years
after the beginning of our universe. read more

Hubble Space Telescope, with a boost from a natural "zoom
lens", has found the strongest evidence so far for a galaxy
with a redshift significantly above 7. It is likely to be
one of the youngest and brightest galaxies ever seen right
after the cosmic "dark ages", just 700 million years after
the beginning of our Universe (redshift ~7.6). read more

Using natural "gravitational lenses," an international team
of astronomers claim to have found the first traces of a
population of the most distant galaxies yet seen-the light
we see from them today left more than 13 billion years ago,
when the universe was just 500 million years old. read more